


Monsters

by Meraad



Series: The Many Adventures of Aella and Thom [12]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:47:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29888925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meraad/pseuds/Meraad
Summary: Thom and Aella's daughter has a nightmare, Dad!wall to the rescue.Prompt from noire-pandora over on tumblr"Just close your eyes. I will still be here when you open them again."
Relationships: Blackwall | Thom Rainier/Female Inquisitor, Female Adaar/Blackwall | Thom Rainier
Series: The Many Adventures of Aella and Thom [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/570136
Kudos: 5





	Monsters

The screaming pulled Thom from a sound sleep. Beside him, Aella made a quiet sound of protest as she pushed up onto her elbow. “What-” a drowsy murmur. “Mattie,” she sighed, moving to toss the blankets back, but he reached out, tucking them back over her.

“I’ll go,” he said. “Go back to sleep,” he whispered and couldn’t help the quiet chuckle as his wife flopped back down without even a hint of protest. He thought she might have been snoring again even before he made it halfway across the room. 

The wailing continued as he walked down the hall, though it had quieted some. Pushing open the door, Thom blinked a few times, the magic little nightlight on the bedside table casting a pale purple glow over the room, over his four-year-old daughter as she sat upright in her bed, a stuffed nug clutched to her chest, thumb in her mouth. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, voice soft as he crossed the room and knelt on the floor beside her bed. Reaching out he smoothed one hand over the back of her head, over silvery sleep mussed hair. “Bad dream?” 

“Uh-huh,” Mathilda mumbled around her thumb as big fat tears rolled down her chubby cheeks. 

Thom knuckled them away. “Want to tell me?” he asked. 

“Mo’sters,” came her muffled reply and Thom’s heart skipped a beat. It was a nagging worry in the back of both his and Aella’s minds. Aella was a mage, had come into her magic very young, the chance of their daughter being magically inclined as well was a high possibility.

But so far there had been no signs, so the monsters in her dreams were hopefully just that, and not demons in the Fade. “They can’t hurt you,” he promised, but she didn’t look convinced. “Alright, scoot over,” he said and climbed up onto the bed that was far too small for a man his size. 

Mathilda squirmed until she could tuck herself against his chest, her head pillowed on his arm, her stuffed nug under her chin. She sniffled quietly and he ducked his head, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Just close your eyes, Mattie,” he murmured, his other hand stroking up and down her back. “I will still be here when you open them again."

Long minutes passed, her hand was spread over his chest, but she shifted, squirmed, restless, and fighting sleep. “Shhh,” he crooned gently and began to hum softly, the lullaby that Aella often sang. Mathilda twisted, rolled over, and he narrowly escaped an elbow to the jaw before finally, finally, she sighed, settled and her breathing evened out as she fell asleep. 

Thom lay there for long minutes just watching her, his chest so tight with all the love he felt for her. He and Aella had tried for years after she had disbanded the Inquisition, with no success, her pregnancy had come as an unexpected surprise. Everything had been a surprise for him. From falling in love with Aella to her loving him in return. The ups and downs, the fights and sorrows. But it was all worth it, every single moment.

Closing his eyes, he let out a quiet sigh of his own and thanked the Maker for it all.

Aella woke up just as the sky began to lighten, the space in the bed beside her cold. Even after all these years she still had a moment of panic when she found him gone. But she remembered Mattie waking up in the middle of the night. Tossing back the blankets, she climbed out of bed, dragged on her thick robe, and padded down the hall. Leaning against the door frame she peered in and smiled.

The bed that Thom had made for Mattie was still new, and they had a number of sleepless nights since moving her to it. But it was quite a sight to see, Mattie sprawled in the center, arms thrown wide, one of her feet only inches from Thom’s face. While Thom was barely perched on the edge of the bed. Letting them sleep, she closed the door partway once more and made her way to the kitchen where she set a kettle on the boil while she stared out the window, hand on the swell of her belly as she watched the sun inch up over the horizon.


End file.
